Lesson 1Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): getting GDP data, real vs nominal GDP, quarterly annualization, revisionsLearn to get BEA GDP reports, tell nominal from real GDP, understand quarterly growth rates made yearly, and follow changes over time to see the macro story develop.
Finding your way in BEA GDP data sitesReal vs nominal GDP and price adjustersHow to calculate quarterly growth made yearlyParts of GDP and spending sharesFollowing GDP changes through timeLesson 2Inflation datasets: CPI and PCE—meanings, core vs headline, measurement differences, finding time seriesLook into CPI and PCE inflation ideas, headline against core measures, what they cover and how weighted, and how to find, download, and understand official inflation series for macro and investment choices.
What CPI and PCE price indexes meanHeadline vs core: what's left out and whyHow measurements differ and where data comes fromFinding CPI and PCE series in FREDUnderstanding inflation patterns and ups and downsLesson 3International organizations and cross-checks: IMF and World Bank time series for background and matchingKnow how IMF and World Bank data add to national sources, how to get similar series from different countries, and how to check levels, growth rates, and meanings to make sure macro analysis matches up.
IMF Data Portal and main macro datasetsWorld Bank WDI and searches by topicMatching country codes and unitsComparing series from many providersFinding mismatches and data breaksLesson 4Leading indicators databases: ISM PMI, Conference Board LEI, consumer confidence indices—where to find and how to useLook at main leading indicator data like ISM PMI, Conference Board LEI, and consumer confidence, learn where to get them, how made, and how to use in predicting business ups and downs.
ISM manufacturing and services PMIsConference Board LEI partsConsumer confidence and feeling indexesDiffusion indexes and level pointsUsing leading data in downturn modelsLesson 5Data quality, revisions, and how to cite sources with month/year (best practices)Build a good way to check macro data quality, know first against changed releases, follow past changes, and cite sources with month and year in professional work.
First releases vs changed macro dataCommon reasons for changes and biasesUsing change histories and versionsChecking papers and notesCiting data with date and source infoLesson 6Treasury market and yield curve data: 2y, 10y, and other maturities; calculating spreads and reading auction resultsLearn to get Treasury yield data for different times, calculate key spreads like 2s10s, understand yield curve shapes, and read auction results for signs of demand, money flow, and policy hopes.
Places for Treasury yield curve dataOn-the-run vs off-the-run bondsCalculating 2s10s and other key spreadsUnderstanding curve getting steeper or flatReading Treasury auction result tablesLesson 7Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): unemployment, payrolls, labor force participation, wage measures and seasonalityGet skills to access BLS labor data, including unemployment, payrolls, participation, and wage measures, and learn how seasonal changes and survey setup affect understanding trends.
Household vs establishment surveysUnemployment rate and U-3 vs U-6Nonfarm payrolls and sector breaksLabor force participation and people groupsWage and earnings measures, seasonal effectsLesson 8FRED and other aggregators: downloading series, frequency conversion, basic smoothing and trend extractionLearn to use FRED and similar tools to search, download, and change macro series, adjust times, apply simple smoothing and trend filters, and organize data for charts, comparisons, and basic investment work.
Searching and saving key macro seriesDownloading data in CSV and ExcelChanging data time and grouping methodsApplying moving averages and simple filtersUsing FRED graphs and custom boardsLesson 9Practical checklist: step-by-step guide to assemble the specific 12–24 month dataset required by the case study (GDP, unemployment, inflation, policy rate, yield curve, one leading indicator)Follow a planned way to build a 12–24 month macro dataset for a case study, including GDP, unemployment, inflation, policy rates, yield curve spreads, and one leading indicator, ready for charts and simple math.
Setting the case study time and rangePicking core macro and market variablesMatching times and datesCleaning, naming, and saving the datasetMaking summary charts and tablesLesson 10Federal Reserve releases and FOMC statements: how to find, read, and extract policy rate and guidanceLearn to find Federal Reserve stats, FOMC statements, and notes, get policy rate paths and balance sheet data, and understand forward guidance words for macro and market work.
Key Fed releases and publish timesFinding FOMC statements and notesSpotting policy rate choices and pathsReading forward guidance wordsUsing SEP and dot plot info
